Stony Tracks

Show 15 with Pat Nicholson - March 13th

About

Click here for a little 5 question survey about Stony Tracks._______________________________________Stony Tracks is like Desert Island Discs, but with photos of the guests life on the big screen, and the guest chooses 10 pieces of music rather than the 8 on the radio.The shows are on the second Wednesday of each month in the Beechey Room at York House. All profits from ticket and bar sales go to help fund projects at York House to help improve the facilities.----------------------------------------------------------------How to get ticketsTickets are available from York House & Odell's www.wegottickets.com, (50p booking fee), and at the preceding show.N.B. Only 6 tickets are allocated to wegottickets, (more will be added if necessary) the rest are on sale from York House & Odell's - cash only please.---------------------------------------------------------------I got the idea for Stony Tracks when I was at a festival in 2017 and there were a couple of 'Desert Island Disc' events featuring artists who were performing at the festival.I've built on the concept by using PowerPoint to show photo's of the guest's lives, and play the tracks from YouTube if available.I don't impose The Bible & The Complete Works of Shakespeare on the guests, but of course some guests do choose them.Derek Gibbons-------------------------------------------------------------About York HouseYork House Centre is a well-used Youth, Community and Arts Centre three minutes’ walk from Stony Stratford town centre. The three storey Victorian building (c.1860) is Grade II Listed and is run by a Volunteer Board of Trustees to provide rooms for hire for the whole community.

Irene Entwistle 12-12-18 (photos after the show)

Future Shows

Conversation and Music

The distinctive figure of Pat Nicholson with his long flowing hair, and faithful dog Oz by his side is a regular sight around Stony.
Pat was born just four and a half miles from Stony in the village of Whaddon in 1948. Growing up in the 1960’s, he developed a love for both the arts and music and left for London in 1968 to study architecture. Pat eventually set up his own small practice in Bedford in the 1980’s and has since worked for several practices in both London and the north of England. Further to retiring in 2013, he has concentrated on writing and performing music. He currently runs the successful Vaultage Open Mic, the annual YorkieFest fundraiser and became the Fifth Bard of Stony in 2015.

Vicki travelled with her parents for the first thirteen years of her life, the family following her father’s postings to Northern Ireland, Scotland, Cornwall and Malta. In this time she changed schools eleven times eventually ‘settling’ to secondary education in Northampton for five years before arriving at Bletchley Park, by chance, in 1970 to train as a teacher. At the time she did not know that her aunt had been recruited to Bletchley Park in WW2 and that her grandmother was a servant at Sir Herbert Leon’s mansion, also in Bletchley Park, before WW1. Since Vicki settled in Stony Stratford in 1978 she has been involved in arts, music and community projects in the town and across Milton Keynes.

Andy was born in Rugby in 1955 to George and Jessie Fenton. Dad was a turner with a local engineering company, and mum worked at the local factory which employed half of the town. He was Cross Country Town champion for a number of years, and for Warwickshire schools, being a member of the English Schools winning team in 1970. Andy also played football for Coventry City as a schoolboy.
He first picked up a guitar aged 17, an old acoustic left at his house by his cousin, plus a beginner’s book, and as part of comedy band ‘The Measles’, went to Gibraltar in 1985 and had trips to India between 2008 and 2015 with ‘The Floydsound’. He also plays with ‘Hellzaboppin’, ‘After the Lights’ and ‘Little Pig’.

The guest for February is Anna Page.
Anna was born in Cape Town, and immigrated to the UK aged 19 to become a pipe organ builder, working for John Page of Page & Howard, who specialised in building and restoring Fairground and Street organs. She later married John Page. She has worked at the OU for over 26 years, currently with a Senior Producer role in Open Media and Open Learning, and is also an OU graduate. Anna plays flute & chime bar in the St Mary & St Giles church band, & sings alto in the Parish Singers & The Open University Choir. Her hobbies include wood carving, knitting, sewing and dolls house making. She was a prime mover in the 10 year campaign to restore the St Mary & St Giles Willis pipe organ.

Paul was born in Beckenham Kent in 1947. His father was in the RAF, and his Mother was a veterinary assistant. When he was 15 he joined the Junior Leaders Regiment Royal Armoured Corps to begin training as a British Soldier, transferring to the Second Royal Tank Regiment when he was 18. When he left the army, he became a drummer, then a roadie, a technician and a pyro-technician for some of the top pop and rock stars of the 70's 80's & 90's, including Bob Geldof, Hot Chocolate, Gary Numan, Toto, Sister Sledge, Pil, and Suzi Quatro to name just a few. Paul is also a damn fine drummer, and played with local bands 'Out of the Wood” and Penda's Fen. Suzi Quatro wrote the foreword to Pauls recently published book of memoirs "Access-all-Areas" which you can buy at the show at the reduced price of £10

I keep being told I should be the interviewee rather than the interviewer at one of the shows , so I thought I'd be the guest for the 1st Anniversary show.
Ken Daniels (who was my first S.T. guest) will be asking the questions

Andy was born in 1962 and grew up in Fareham. He studied at the London Electronics College, moving to Milton Keynes in 1981 to work at Hanslope Park. He has travelled the world extensively as head of training for ShoreTel, is a keen photographer, loves planes, plays several instruments in a number of bands, and has recently discovered the joys of acting with two local theatre groups. Andy is the first Stony Tracks guest who isn't a resident of Stony, but was in the past, and spends a lot of his time here, either as a musician / actor, and as the chairman of Stony Live!

Doors at 19.30 - show starts at 20.00.
Sarah was born in Stony Stratford, and lived in Syria until she was eight, when she was sent to board at Bedford High School.
She describes herself as “the naughtiest girl in the school” and was thrown out at 16, after which she went to Edinburgh Academy for Boys.
Amongst other things, she's been head of English at Lea Manor High School in Luton, and has been a full-time writer for nine years, writing over 20 novels. Published last year, “Behind Her Eyes” was The Sunday Times No.1 best seller. Sarah has also written screenplays for the BBC, including episodes of New Tricks. Sarah has recently moved back to Stony after a spell living in London.

Doors at 19.30 - show starts at 20.00.
The event is in the Beechey Room. Please use rear entrance to York House. There is a ramp for wheelchair access, and York House has disabled toilet facilities.
There will be a small bar with wine, beer and soft drinks. All profits from ticket money and bar go to York House’s community projects.

Born in Llangollen in 1949, a tomboy who also loved reading books about horses and ballet. Judy has been an OU tutor, had two children’s novels published, and is still writing. She taught A level history at Luton Sixth Form College and to Stantonbury Sixth Form students.
Nowadays her life is dominated by her work with Stony Stratford in Bloom, of which she was the co-founder and is the Chair.
She is also Ambassador for Thames & Chilterns in Bloom, and has been a Stony Stratford Town Councillor.

The first bard of Stony and locally famous wood-sculptor puts music to his past. From the second summer of love, battles with riot police, life on the canal, depression and domestic violence. This 1970’s Surrey school boy could identify every native bird whilst being a whiz at football . Now settled in Stony after marrying his love in a castle, a love-story ending to a rebellious past.